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TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

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130 th YEAR ISSUE 4

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

No charges for shooting suspect by Bek Yake Multimedia Editor

Phu-Qui “Bill” Nguyen, suspect detained during last week’s shooting scare on Mississippi State University’s campus, was transported by MSU Police to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus, Mississippi for psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Sid Salter, Chief Communications Officer at MSU, said Nguyen withdrew according to university policy and was not expelled. MSU Police Chief Vance Rice said during an initial phone call with Nguyen, a recruiter in Jackson, Mississippi, took notes during the call and gave them to someone in their office to contact the police. This is when Nguyen’s venting was confused with an imminent threat. According to Rice, MSU PD did not hear Nguyen’s exact quote until after he had been arrested and therefore acted swiftly and accordingly given the information they were given by Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) regarding an “active shooter” on campus. Rice explained there were no reported injuries from the scare itself. No charges have been filed and Nguyen has been admitted to a psychiatric facility in Jackson. Rice said the initial “active shooter” alert on Thursday was sent within five to six minutes of receiving the call from MHP. Though it turned out Nguyen was not actually an imminent threat, Mississippi Code § 41-2167(5) states “Whenever a [designated professional] has reason to believe that a person poses an immediate substantial likelihood of physical harm to himself or others ... by virtue of mental illness, then the [designated professional] may hold the person or may admit the person to and treat the person in a licensed medical facility, without a civil order or warrant for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) hours.” This law allowed for the arrest in good faith of Nguyen and the transport to a mental health facility. Though Salter did not specify which type of withdrawal process Nguyen was

20 Incidents Necessary to Report to MSU PD or the Dean of Students:

by Pranaav Jadhav

1. Classroom disruption 2. Violation of residence hall rules 3. Drunkenness in the classroom 4. Threatening words or actions 5. Writings that convey clear intentions to harm self or others 6. Obser ved self-injurious behavior (cutting, burning, etc.) 7. Threatening online postings 8. Excessive class absenteeism 9. Suicidality including: Threats (Iʻm going to kill myself) Gestures (erasing oneʻs hard drive) ideation (Iʻve always thought about killing myself) attempts 10. Acts motivated by hatred or discrimination 11. Paranoia (student goundlessly beleives they are being stalked) 12. Stalking 13. Relationship Violence 14. Hazing/Bullying 15. Flat affect or extreme lack of responsiveness 16. “Accidental” overdose 17. Death of a student on or off campus 18. Disappearances, kidnappings, or missing persons 19. Harassment 20. Life-threatening illness/injury

allowed to use, MSU policy gives students and faculty two options depending on the circumstance. There is the normal withdrawal process students may initiate themselves and also a special withdrawal process for involuntary withdrawal without expulsion for mentally ill students who “engage in behavior which is immediately harmful to others; or is unable to meet reasonable institutional standards of conduct; and in which there is serious question about the student’s appreciation of the nature and quality of the behavior(s) in question.” This process

may be initiated by the recommendation of professional staff, after a student refuses to voluntarily seek mental health care. Students may make an appointment with or walk in to speak with the counselor on duty at the Student Counseling Services located in Hathorn Hall for an appointment on Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to discuss anything from a stressful test , roommate problems or suicidal thoughts. A student having suicidal thoughts may be referred to outside mental health care or stay within

News Writer

Taylor Bowden, The Reflector

the counseling services depending on the severity of the concerns and the discretion of the counselor involved. Students may also call for the counselor on call after hours by calling the MSU Police Department and asking to speak with the counselor. The Division of

MSU reviews responses to last week’s shooting scare

Student affairs has developed a Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) to respond to incidents such as the one on Thursday. Critical incidents, as defined by Student Affairs Operating Policy 91.312, may be reported to MSU Police or the Dean of Students.

On Thursday, a Maroon Alert about an active shooter on Mississippi State University’s campus was sent out at 10:15 a.m. Every facility chose its own method to react to the emergency. ‘Maroon Alert’ is a voluntary emergency notification system that is installed to notify students, faculty and staff of any emergencies affecting the MSU community ranging from severe weather, burglary, to shootings on campus. To receive Maroon Alert texts, a member of the MSU family has to provide their cellphone number in Banner and opt-in to the service. Social media accounts and the University’s website are other ways to track updates from the emergency system. A biology class in Harned Hall was in progress when the text containing ‘active shooter’ was sent out. According to Aishwarya Dikshit, freshman biological sciences major, the professor of the class asked students to go back to their residence halls after the alert. “Our professor told us to go back to our dorms as soon as possible. We left through the back door and that’s when we received the second message saying “Shooter spotted near Lee Hall. Seek safety immediately.” At that point, I was almost about to lose my calm. Lee Hall is just in front of the building I was in. But I knew that I needed to stay safe and be strong. Not only for myself but for my dear family and friends,” Dikshit said. According to the ‘What to do guidelines’ on MSU’s emergency website, there is a recommendation on how to react in possible shooter situations. The recommendation states, “In most cases, locking or barricading doors and staying inside a room is the desired response. However, use common sense and follow directions provided by the Maroon Alert system.” RESPONSE, 2

Production class creates additional news broadcast by Reed Gaddis Staff Writer

Starting in mid-September, students can expect to see a new show on the air, which is currently being created by Mississippi State’s broadcasting students. “The Department of Communication has two capstone or practicum classes

that we utilize for broadcasting,” Teresa Gawrych, communication instructor said. Broadcasting students are required to take a practicum class in Television News to to graduate. Recently, a new section has been added due to an increase of students. This section is in the process of designing a new show which is requiring many hours of dedication from the students. Gawrych described how the new show will be similar

to Take 30 News, which is the original class; however the new production will be stylized in a different manner. “It’s going to be a little bit more movement with the cameras and some flashier graphics,” Gawrych said. “They’re trying to appeal to a college audience with the types of stories they do and the way they shoot their television show.” Gawrych said the new class will be create a logo and

a new format, in relation to Take 30 News, for their news program. “The students are designing it from scratch; they’re deciding where the cameras go, how they want the show to look, creating a name, doing PR for it,” Gawrych said. “So that’s the thing that kinda makes it a little bit different than our current TV show, which is Take 30 News.” “With all of our broadcasting classes we want our

students to be able to go out and work in the industry; be it local news, national news, or even working for a university,” Gawrych said. “Some of our students have chosen to double emphasis in Broadcasting and PR, so that allows our students to go either work at universities or at news stations.” “It is a news show in the fact that it covers news topics, like sports, news, entertainment, health and beauty

and we also have interviews on the show,” Gawrych said. “It’s just the way we set up our cameras, the way the students decided to format the show, makes it a little bit, almost like an entertainment hybrid, but it still covers news topics.” KayLeigh McCool, senior communication major with concentrations in public relations and broadcasting, said the show was not just for the practicum class, but for all MSU students.

PRODUCTION, 2

Weather

Reflections

Tuesday

HI: 91 LO: 69 SKY: Sunny Scott Sincoff, Campus Connect Forecast POP: 0% (Department of Geosciences)

Wednesday

Thursday

HI: 93 LO: 70 SKY: Sunny POP: 0%

HI: 90 LO: 72 SKY: Cloudy POP: 30%

FORECAST: Tues. will be sunny and warm. Wed. will be the hottest day of the week with mostly sunny skies. Humidity will rise on Thu. and there is a chance of storms in the afternoon.

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Policy: Any person may pick up a single copy of The Reflector for free. Additional copies may be obtained from the Henry Meyer Student Media Center for 25 cents per copy.

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